Corona Devotionals

Sometimes I will feel a spiritual nudge to do something or engage with someone... and I do it.   I write the note, or pay the visit, or provide the meal.  But sometimes I feel the prompting to do God's will, and because of timing, resources, or my own self-will: I don't do it. We are human after all, and...bygones, right ?   Right--except sometimes God isn't just asking  us, He is tasking  us...and when our God  means business , ( His business), then we had better comply. An example of this in the Bible is Jonah.  An example of this in our lives is (sometimes) us. Let's talk about Jonah first. God tasked Jonah with going to the city of Nineveh and speaking to their people about the sin that they were involved in.  The only problem was: Jonah didn't want to go. God asked  Jonah to go to Nineveh. God tasked  Jonah to go to  Nineveh. But Jonah did not go to Nineveh, he caught the next ship out of town and hid in the bow of...

What is your "crazy" (for Jesus) today?  And-- go for it. Starting a youth group from scratch? Beginning a recovery ministry to free women from addiction. Sharing the love of Jesus with inmates? Scheduling a lunch with an acquaintance who is gay to show and share God's love and truth with them? Presenting a session on 'Faith and God' during a secular business conference.  Humbly confronting (broken) bullies in order to seek unity and peace and God's good plan for them and those they harass. Sharing God's love and the Gospel of Jesus at a business meeting/doctor's appointment/coffee clutch? What crazy thing has God called us to do/be/say/pray in His Name and for His glory...and what's holding us back? Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.  ~Proverbs 29:25 It's crazy, but everything about following Jesus goes against  our human logic, reasoning, and our gut instincts.  Maybe that's why it is so hard to step ...

Have you ever watched a movie or a cartoon (think Tom and Jerry ), where one character sets a trap (of some sort) for another character, and then we watch as the unsuspecting other character walks right into it.   They didn't see it coming at all.   That's how I feel with sin, and most often (for me), it is the sin of my tongue...and my (negative) words that impede God's plans, and bring me and others down in negative ways.  However, beyond the tongue, sin befalls us in all-manner of ways, and each of us may struggle with differing areas of sin---but we all struggle.   There are times when we know  that the devil may lay a trap for us, and (in God's strength), we avoid it.  We  purpose to keep a guard over our lips/thoughts/actions/impulses/desires...a guard over our SIN, lest we fall to it.   And--with prayer and preparation and with God , we can avoid sin and even be victorious over it.   Jesus looked at them and said,...

Have we suffered?     Are we suffering?  David was a warrior.  He fought hard battles in hand to hand (archaic) brutal battles,  and he handled tough physical feats that might make us faint to even imagine.  David was tough and he did tough things. But, remember , David was also a shepherd.  He was (at times) tender with lambs and (always) protective of his flock, and fierce if foes encroached on his herd.   But, for all of the bravado, and all of the bravery that David held...he was human too.  He hurt, and he suffered. He had enemies and foes and adversaries, just as we do.  But He loved God and sought to honor Him, just as we do. And the Lord promised His presence and protection and blessing to David... just as He does for us. David wrote to God: Psalm 132  (1) Lord, remember David and all that he suffered.  ~Psalm 132:1 David suffered , even in the midst of the physical and spiritual conquests and victories of his...

I was about five-people-deep in line at a store the other day when the cashier had to step away to help a customer. As the line grew longer and people waited, a few men in the front struck up conversations. We all heard as they exchanged profanities as if they were pleasantries, and then they compared tips about where to buy the cheapest bottles of alcohol in our city. One of them said that he had walked thirty minutes to get to this store because he had lost his license and almost died in a drunken driving incident recently. And yet another man let us all know that he had just given plasma to "make some money", and that all he really wanted to do was to go home, lay down, and have a drink. This.... this is our world, friends. Day to day we may live in a little bubble of church-goers...we might prefer to stay in our homes and our status quo churches...but the truth is that we live in a lost world full of lost people. Does this make us sad ? Does this make us mad ? Does ...